Thallium-20 1 myocardial imaging in young adults with anomalous left coronary artery arising from the pulmonary artery.

Anomalous origin of the left coronary artery from the pulmonary artery (Bland-Garland-White syndrome) may produce myocardial ischemia, infarction, and frequently death in infancy. Some patients, however, develop satisfactory coronary artery collaterals and are relatively asymptomatic into adulthood. Very little is known about their myocardial perfusion patterns. We studied three young adults with this condition using stress thallium-20 1 myocardial imaging. Electrocardiograms in two patients demonstrated old anterolateral myocardial infarctions. Preoperative stress exercise tests were positive in all three patients. Marked perfusion abnormalities were found in the proximal anterolateral wall in all patients, and one patient also had a posterolateral defect. Postoperatively, all stress tests returned to normal. Thallium imaging demonstrated improvement in ischemic areas, but old scars persisted.